天方夜谭英文故事：The Wicked Wife of The Sheik

Once in Arabia, there lived a Sheik. He and his wife lived in a village. As she had no child, the Sheik married a maiden¹ for a second time. By his second wife, he had a son. He loved his son very much and he grew up as a hand some young man. Sheik’s first wife hated the second wife and her son. 

 

Sheik's first wife began to plot² against the second wife and her son. One day the Sheik had to go out on a journey. He said to his son that he would return home before Bakrid and he would bring him some fine gifts also. As the first wife had some magical³ powers she changed the second wife and son as goats when the sheik was away. When Bakrid was nearing he returned home and could find only his first wife. He asked her where his son and his mother were. 

 

The First wife lied that his second wife died in some unknown decease and that her son ran away from home and didn’t come again. On hearing this the Sheik became worried but consoled himself that it was God’s will. 

 

On the day of Bakrid Sheik asked his first wife to bring a goat for sacrifice. His first wife brought the second wife who had been changed as a goat. When it came near the Sheik it started to brush his leg with her tongue. The Sheik took pity on the goat and asked his first wife to bring another. So he brought the son goat to the Sheik. It also come near the Sheik and started to lick⁴ his hand with tongue. 

 

Again the Sheik took pity on the goat. He said, "The two goats do like men. So I can’t kill these two." Then the first wife got angry and said. "If you refuse to kill all goats like this, we will not be able sacrifice anything. 

 

Just then a butcher’s wife passed by the way. She also had magical powers. So she found that these two goats were none but his second wife and son. Soon she went near the Sheik and said, “O Sheik! These two goats are your second wife and your son. They are under some spell of magic". The Sheik was stunned⁵ and asked her if she had the magical power to change them to their old form. 

 

The butcher's wife took a small bowl from her bag from her shoulder. There was some water in the bowl. She took some water from the bowl and sprayed⁶ it on the two goats. 

 

The very next movement they became his second wife and his son. He was delighted to see them as before. They told him what had happened to them when he was away. The Sheik asked the butcher’s wife to cast⁷ some spell of magic on his first wife. She also chanted⁸ some words. His first wife was changed as a dog and it ran away from there. Then the Sheik, his second wife and his lovable son lived happily for a long time.  

1 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

2 plot   

v.绘制；n.小块土地，地区图，图，阴谋，情节；vt.划分，绘图，密谋；vi.密谋，策划

参考例句：

• The plot of the film is simply dreamed up.这个电影的情节完全是虚构的。
• It was two young reporters who uncovered the whole plot.是两位年轻记者揭露了整个阴谋。

3 magical   

adj.魔术的，有魔力的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• I used to believe my mother had magical powers.我以前一直相信我母亲有奇妙的魔力。
• The effect of the medicine on the sick man was magical.药对病人的效力是不可思议的。

4 lick   

vt.舔（吃），打败，轻拍，吞卷；n.舔，少许

参考例句：

• I think we could lick the best teams there.我想我们能打败那儿最好的队。
• The house would look better with a lick of paint.这房子稍加颜色就好看了。

5 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

6 sprayed   

v.喷( spray的过去式和过去分词 )；向…扫射（或抛洒），往…上撒；尤指雄猫撒尿（以示领地占有）

参考例句：

• They sprayed aerosol insect repellent into the faces of police. 他们将喷雾驱虫剂喷在了警察的脸上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front of the house had been sprayed with white paint. 房子的正面已喷上了白漆。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 cast   

vt./vi.(cast,cast)投掷；投射；抛

参考例句：

• You can cast your vote at the local polling station.你可以在当地的投票站投票。
• He cast off fear and decided to make a try.他去掉害怕心理，决定试一试。

8 chanted   

v.吟颂，咏唱( chant的过去分词 )；反复有节奏地喊叫（或唱等）

参考例句：

• The crowd chanted slogans and waved banners. 人群有节奏地呼喊着口号并挥舞着旗帜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crowd chanted slogans. 人群有节奏地反复呼喊着口号。 来自《简明英汉词典》